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China’s First
Civilizations
Physical geography plays a role in how civilizations develop and
decline.
• Chinese civilization was shaped by geography such
as mountains and large rivers.
• Long lasting dynasties gained power through strong
armies.
In earlier chapters, you learned that many civilizations
developed in river valleys.
China’s civilization also began in a river valley, but
mountains and deserts also affected its development.
Main Ideas
mountains, and deserts helped shape China’s
civilization. (page 277)
• Rulers known as the Shang became powerful because
they controlled land and had strong armies. (page
278)
• Chinese rulers claimed that the Mandate of Heaven
gave them the right to rule. (page 281)
• Rivers,
Content Vocabulary
Place Names
Huang He
Chang Jiang
Anyang
People
Wu Wang
dynasty
aristocrat
pictograph
ideograph
bureaucracy
mandate
recover
interpret
link
item
China’s Geography
(pages 277–278)
A. The Huang He, or the Yellow River, flows for
more than 2,900 miles across China.
Flooding of the river brought destruction but
also good farming conditions to China.
B. The Chang Jiang, or the Yangtze River, is
about 3,400 miles long and flows across
central China.
C. China has very little farmland because much of the
country is either mountains or deserts.
D. The “Middle Kingdom” was created after the Chinese
people united to form one kingdom.
What effect did the mountains and deserts
have on the Chinese people?
The mountains and deserts separated the
Chinese from most other peoples.
The Shang Dynasty
A. Archaeologists believe the Huang He valley
was the center of Chinese civilization.
B. The first rulers were probably part of the Xia
dynasty. Little is known about them.
C. Archaeologists know much more about the
next dynasty, the Shang. The Shang kings
ruled from about 1750 B.C. to 1045 B.C.
D. Anyang was China’s first capital. It was built during the
Shang dynasty.
E. People of the Shang dynasty were divided into groups.
• The king and his family were the most powerful group.
• Warlords and other royal officials were in the class below the
kings. They were aristocrats, nobles whose wealth came from the
land they owned.
• Traders and artisans were below the aristocrats.
• Most of the lower classes were farmers.
• Slaves captured during wars were the lowest class of people.
F. People in the Shang dynasty believed in many
spirits and gods and honored ancestors with
offerings.
G. Shang kings believed they received wisdom
and power from the gods, spirits, and ancestors.
Kings asked for help by using oracle bones.
H. Early Chinese writing used pictographs, or
characters that stand for objects.
Ideographs are two or more pictographs joined
to represent an idea.
I. Artisans created many works of ivory and clay
but are best known for their bronze objects.
The Zhou Dynasty
Pages 281-283
A. Wu Wang and his followers rebelled against the Shang
dynasty and created the Zhou dynasty.
B. The Zhou dynasty ruled longer than any other dynasty in
Chinese history.
C. Kings in the Zhou dynasty served at the head of the government.
A bureaucracy—officials who are responsible for different areas
of government—served under the king.
D. The Zhou kingdom was divided into smaller territories. Each
territory was led by an aristocrat.
E. Zhou kings were thought to be the link between the gods and
people.
F. The Mandate of Heaven was a heavenly law that gave Zhou kings
the power to rule. The Mandate of Heaven also gave people the
right to overthrow an evil ruler.
G. The Dao was the proper way kings were to rule their people.
H. Irrigation and flood control systems were developed during the Zhou
dynasty. Farm tools, such as the plow, were developed.
I. Silk was an important trade item during the Zhou dynasty.
J. The “Period of the Warring States” occurred before the fall of the
Zhou dynasty. During this time, the local rulers began fighting with
each other.
Review
• China’s first civilizations formed in river valleys. The Chinese were isolated
from other people by mountains and deserts.
• The rulers of the Shang dynasty controlled the area around the Huang He
valley.
• The Zhou dynasty replaced the Shang and claimed to rule with the Mandate of
Heaven. During the Zhou dynasty, farming methods improved and trade
increased.